Anxiety and Stress Forum - Diagnose Yourself With a Brain Tumor?.. Help!


Diagnose Yourself With a Brain Tumor?.. Help!

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scrdat20

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Joined: 03 Feb 2006
Posts: 90

Diagnose Yourself With a Brain Tumor?.. Help! Posted: 02-09-06 12:37pm


I have started suffering from anxiety and I think possibly hypochondria in the last six months... Since then I have been mostly concerned with my heart because of palpitations. But recently I have had terrible headaches and my eyes have been doing some wierd stuff. The headaches feel like sharp stabbing pains that are very intense and always in the same area of my head. I have never had headaches before, and I have seen the doctor ad sees no reason for concern. I just can't get the thought out of my head that I have a brain tumor. (fyi... 20 year old female, great health in the past, I just want to figure out why this is happening to me!) for those of you who have thought that you have had a brain tumor... What made you think that? Did you have symptoms similar to mine? Please help... Any stories or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

backhome22

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Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Posts: 195
Location: MN

Posted: 02-09-06 16:42pm


Even before I knew I had anxiety and health concerns, I was getting really bad headaches...Caused by worrying and stress, also from tmj(from clenching my jaw as a result of anxiety). I was worried about a brain tumor or anyeurism cuz it got so sharp and intense one night, so I went to the e.R., got a ct scan, and everything was ok. Doc said tmj and stress/anxiety.

Justy24

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Joined: 25 Dec 2005
Posts: 59
Location: Canada

Similar Thoughts Posted: 02-18-06 11:49am


Hello, i used to think the same thoughts, I thought I was having heart attacks, I worried about aneyrisms, and tumors all the time. I still worry about it sometimes. But I have been checked out thoroughly and the doctor says that I am in good health. I get headaches, and sharp pains in my head... I have had heart palpatations and increased heart rate... It is so scary especially if you let yourself get out of hand with your thoughts. I drove myself crazy. But headaches can be caused by so many things... Posture, the need for glasses (which was my problem) sleeping the wrong way, stress, clenching your jaws... And so on. Basically I know exactly where you are coming from. I am on medication for my anxiety, but I still have those thoughts. But I cannot sit around and worry I just need to take care of myself and try to keep healthy mentally and physically. It is a battle everyday, but one I am willing to fight. Take care justy 24

mitch7654

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Joined: 27 Dec 2005
Posts: 170

Rep Posted: 02-18-06 18:45pm


If yuo still have tjose thoughts justy is the meds working?

Justy24

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Joined: 25 Dec 2005
Posts: 59
Location: Canada

Only You Posted: 02-20-06 12:34pm


Hello mitch, only we have the power to change our thoughts... Medications that I am taking helps with the symptoms of anxiety, they cannot change what I am thinking. I work in a hospital I see and deal with death frequently. The pills that I am taking are not going to change my thoughts about it, and being afraid of it. Only I can control what I am thinking. The medications are keeping me from freaking out about my thoughts. No more crying all the time, no more sleepless nights, racing heart, chest pain, headaches, hyperventilating...Etc... So you see, the pills are working... You cannot expect medications to do all the work. You have to contribute to the process too. For example; we cannot pray to do well on an exam and leave it at that. We have to study too. I hope that you know and understand what I am saying. Thanks for the reply. Justy24

mitch7654

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Joined: 27 Dec 2005
Posts: 170

Posted: 02-20-06 19:05pm


All I see in the eft is stuff like lose weight dont let people bring you down??? I get panic attack and axiety I dont see it I did download the free manuel idont see panic attacks

mike17

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Joined: 08 Jul 2007
Posts: 63

Help Posted: 07-08-07 23:54pm


hey i need help just wondering weather this post is still active or not

mrsbuzski

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Joined: 15 Jun 2007
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Location: U.S.A. -- Illinois

Yes Indeed Posted: 07-09-07 00:26am


Seems like this post is alive and well......

mike17

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Joined: 08 Jul 2007
Posts: 63

Posted: 07-09-07 07:14am


this has been worrying me for a long time , ever since i was 15 im 17 now. ive had this constant thought that i had a brain tumor every day and every time i wasnt occupied with somthing it was on my mind with pain in my head. i would even wake up and have pain in my neck and lower head area. i finally decided to go to the DR. after years of worry i started to think my head was geting bumby although my dr. said it feels normal. i constantly clinch my jaws and crack my neck from side 2 side it only cracks on one side pretty much also i feel as if i can move or click somtihng in the back of my head the doctor sees no trouble. he has checked my eyes and felt my head few times. my doctor says i have sinuses ( one side of my nose is always block and it switches) back when i was around 12-13 i went through sumthing similar but different cases hope someone can help me out

metalcrystal

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Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 111
Location: most boring state, USA,

Posted: 07-09-07 09:26am

mike17 wrote:

this has been worrying me for a long time , ever since i was 15 im 17 now. ive had this constant thought that i had a brain tumor every day and every time i wasnt occupied with somthing it was on my mind with pain in my head. i would even wake up and have pain in my neck and lower head area. i finally decided to go to the DR. after years of worry i started to think my head was geting bumby although my dr. said it feels normal. i constantly clinch my jaws and crack my neck from side 2 side it only cracks on one side pretty much also i feel as if i can move or click somtihng in the back of my head the doctor sees no trouble. he has checked my eyes and felt my head few times.

my doctor says i have sinuses ( one side of my nose is always block and it switches)

back when i was around 12-13 i went through sumthing similar but different cases

hope someone can help me out

This sounds like you are getting symptoms of TMJ from anxiety and tension. This is exactly what happened to me. TMJ tension causes all kinds of head and jaw pain, but unless you had a jaw injury the root cause is almost always anxiety.
Funny thing about this thread, I remember as a child my very first panic attack was about brain tumors! If we all really had them, it would wipe out the whole anxiety forums.
Justy that was awesome what you said about meds. I just started Cymbalta a month ago. I feel a LOT better, yet not like a different person. Much much calmer, definately, and when I do have anxious thoughts, I am able to reasonably short circuit them before they make me panic. (Before I took the meds I couldn't even relax enough to practice CBT, or meditation, or any kind of relaxation techniques. Breathing? Those were the worst. Anxous hypochondriacs do not want to be aware of their breathing. ) I think people's expectations of meds are unrealistic, they want to feel perfect without any side effects. Side effects often pass, they don't even give the meds a chance. So I really really liked what you said. Crystal

mike17

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Joined: 08 Jul 2007
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Dose Tmj Cause Neck Pain ? Posted: 07-11-07 08:40am


i keep cracking my neck sometimes its a really bad crack like a loud one and i freak out. back to my comment i posted b4 when i do sit ups my head starts to shake and i feel a sense of tension in the back of my head also i can click/move something in the back of my head freaks me out any ideas ? im still new sorry for any misunderstandings mike

metalcrystal

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Joined: 11 Apr 2007
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Location: most boring state, USA,

Re: Dose Tmj Cause Neck Pain ?
Posted: 07-11-07 09:23am

mike17 wrote:

i keep cracking my neck sometimes its a really bad crack like a loud one and i freak out. back to my comment i posted b4 when i do sit ups my head starts to shake and i feel a sense of tension in the back of my head also i can click/move something in the back of my head freaks me out any ideas ?

im still new sorry for any misunderstandings

mike

Mike , yes tons of neck pain, and I would stop doing sit ups or any exercises that cause discomfort or pain in that area. Your clicking and movng is probably from your spine area, the bones there. A chiropractor would probably help a lot. Tension can really throw off that area of your body, especially if your bite is off, too. For that you should ask the dentist. Also, there is a great forum here for TMJ.

Drummer15

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Joined: 23 Apr 2008
Posts: 1

Just my thoughts Posted: 04-23-08 06:24am


Pretty much everything in this forum I can relate to. Almost a year and a half ago, on Christmas sadly, I started having anxiety attacks. To this day, I still dont know what brought them about. At the time, I was working somewhere that I just really didn't like. Eventually went to my doctor and he put me on some meds. Klonopin and Zoloft. And Justy was right. Meds help. They do. But they dont do everything. I still get anxious even taking my meds. Over the past month, my eyes have been getting kinda shady. Seeming very sensitive now. Get headaches. Sharp pains on the left side of my head. And, I have also had that thought of "Oh, frick. Maybe its a brain tumor. And, that's whats causing the anxiety." A part of me believes there is some outside trigger causing my anxiety, I just dont know what it is. And, before too long, I'm gonna start seeing a psychiatrist to help deal with it. Getting the ol' "I feel like I'm losing it. I'm gonna go crazy." thoughts, which are never fun. I'm afraid of dying. Just am. I'm also afraid of the thought of getting to a point where I do kind of lose it or cant be myself. However, I'm able to keep in perspective that this is just the anxiety working it's crap on me. That's how it works. I've got an aunt and a professor from college who have dealt with this, and I can honestly tell you the very best thing you can do is find someone who understands what you're going through and talking to them. People that haven't gone through this stuff just dont understand. They can't. Not their fault. They just cant understand what it is we deal with. Anyway, my anxiety came in short periods. I'd go 2 weeks just fine, but always having that "Whens the next episode coming?" thought in the back of my mind which would last anywhere from 2-6 days, then go away. And that was while I was on my medication. Then after a few months. I decided I was starting to get worried about becoming dependent on the meds. Not physically dependent, but mentally. Kind of like if I didn't take my medicine, I wouldn't be alright cause I needed it to stay "normal". So, I decided to go a couple days with out it. Just fine. Took em the next day. Then another 2 days. Take my meds. Then 5 days and then take it. Eventually, I ended up just cutting off my meds all together, and it was after I did that that I actually started feeling normal, like I was beating the anxiety and it was going away. Now, I knew it wouldn't just disappear, and it would pop up here and there very very shortly, minutes max. Nothing big at all. Lately, with the eye crap and everything else. It's kinda starting to come back in the 3-6 episodes, which, during those, I'll take my meds, the klonopin (which should not be taken lightly, a lot of athletes, especially college, take Klonopin to get that buzzed feeling, so, a dependancy can occur if you get too lose with it. Use your doctors orders on all meds), any I digress, Klonopin is money when you're not on it on a regular basis. If you feel like you're about to come down, have a bad night, Klonopin with put you in a slight buzzy drunken feeling, which I'm rockin right now. And, all anxiety and everything else just goes away. Not a care in the world, so it works in that manner. I've been dealing with this crap for a long time, and kept waiting for it to end. Surely it will just be a 2 week deal, right? OK, a month, right? A year? But, maybe it's just something that's gonna be around for a while. The key is, do everything you can to get help. I was worried about my heart for years, even prior to anxiety attacks, and, as fate would have it, I went to the hospital for 6 days and had my heart tested while I was there, and it was fine, so, now it's not an issue. Maybe, if you think you might have a brain tumor, the right play is to get it checked out. If everything is cool, you dont need to worry about it anymore. For me, little signs in my body are kinda leading me to believe that there is something else going on. The main one being a constant twitch in my legs. If I just sit still, and watch my legs, they twitch pretty much none stop, which I just find weird. And, I'm talking, a very noticeable movement and twitch, from the time I wake up, all the through the day, till I go to sleep. It doesn't scare me, just something going on that hasn't in the past, and probably shouldn't. I also stutter in deep breathes (which I just did). It's hard to describe, but, there's a small stutter in my breathes every so often. Kind of like when you cry, and you inhale, it kind of stutters, that's what I do. And I know I only do it when I'm kinda feelin stressed a little, and it's just a reaction of my body to calm myself down. Also, every anxiety dissorder has triggers. Some are social gatherings. Some are animals (I incredibly hate spiders, tarantualas actually, I dont eve like typing or seeing the word), some are illnesses, so are the "Am I going crazy" "Am I dying". There is a trigger. You need to find out what your trigger(s) is/are anddo one of two things: 1. Confront those fears. Gradually just get used to them, be it spiders or whatever or 2. Try and avoid them. Avoiding a trigger is not easy, and it's an easy way to get caught up in the same circle. So, I recommend #1 under a doctors care and whatnot. By the way, I do not at all recommend using my method and getting off your meds. Even after you feel fine, stay on them. If you get off too early, it's just gonna start back up. But, at the same time, be careful. Dont let yourself develop a dependency on the meds. Again, one of the best things you can do is find somebody you are comfortable to talk with about this and just get this stuff off your chest. Carrying it around is only going to make it worse. You can do it online, find someone to email. Find a friend or relative who has gone through it and talk to them. It really does help. In the end, just know that it's only anxiety. If you feel you need to have an MRI or C/T scan. Go for it. The positive results can only help. And, in the worst case scenario, they find something, at least they found it now and not down the line and it can hopefully be treated easily. I'd love to be able to continue talking to everyone on here. I dont have all the answers. Done tons of reading and talked to lots of people, but I'm no expert. But, I'm more than willing to listen and offer any advice I can to anybody who needs it. I do know what you're going through. I'm sure we all do. So, we can definitely help each other. So, feel free to fire away. I'm 25, good athlete, love music. Just a regular guy (who happens to be awesome) and one thing I try and focus on during an attack or episode when you seem to focus on everything bad and wrong with you, is all the very best things in life that are going to come. Gettin married to the woman of my dreams. Having kids. Having my kids be professional athletes and spoiling their parents with glorious gifts. You know, good stuff. But, focusing on all the good that can and will come your way is a good way to try and shrug off the worries anxiety can bring on. Best of luck to everyone, and hope everyone is doing very well. Now, I must go to sleep, via sweet sweet Klonopin. (again doctors orders only)

Avalerion

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Joined: 30 Apr 2004
Posts: 2

Anxiety Posted: 06-17-08 12:53pm


I too am very anxious. At present, I'm getting married in 1 1/2 months, and buying/moving into a new house in 1 month. Add to that the 8 hours a day that I work on a computer. I have had sharp excruciating head pains in one area (a few seconds, but they freak me out) on the right side of my head. They go away and come back sometimes... but lately I've had a dull pain towards my eye and a few times a week feel a pulsating feeling in the same area. The dull feeling (not really pain) is there now. So... do I freak out and go to a doctor? Or is this anxiety/stress built up? Most of what I've read is very similar. I also have an issue with reading the 'net and thinking the worst of everything... so how can I get some peace on this matter?

j7235a

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Joined: 05 May 2008
Posts: 3

same thing scrdat20 Posted: 06-18-08 10:00am


thanks this forum topic helped. i am going through the same thing right now. i have a constant headache in the same location and have thought it might be a tumor!!! i've been having severe anxiety problem about another topic as well though, so have been confused. i now found out that i moght need an inpacted wisdom tooth out and that might be causing it. we'll see. reading this forum has helped though thanks!